Chapter 425 - 423: Xu Jing the Taskmaster (First Update)

Chapter 425: Chapter 423: Xu Jing the Taskmaster (First Update)

Xu Jing suddenly paused and turned her head, slightly surprised, and said, "Song Erniang?!"

The woman not far away, looking at her with delight, was none other than Song Erniang, Song Qingyun!

Xu Jing stood in place waiting for Song Qingyun to come up to her, and somewhat dazedly asked, "Didn’t you go to your maternal grandparents’ home? How come..."

She had only come back to Anping County less than half a month ago.

At that time, she distinctly remembered that she had personally seen off Song Qingyun.

Song Qingyun smiled a little sheepishly and said, "Actually, after I parted with Miss Xu last time, I never left Anping County, constantly thinking about what Miss Xu mentioned, hoping I’d help you record the cases."

"So I willfully stayed, and during this time I’ve been continually visiting Mr. Chen and them, who previously worked with Miss Xu on cases. Fortunately, they were very generous and willing to tell me about the cases you solved in Anping County."

"I came here today because I heard from Mr. Chen and the others that Miss Xu would be returning to Anping County today..."

Xu Jing’s face showed a look of realization.

Probably Chen Hu and the others heard it from the Cheng Brothers and Sisters as well, because in a rush to produce medicine, Cheng Xianbai had returned to Anping County with a group overnight on the day the imperial edict arrived.

Nanny Kang couldn’t help but look at her mistress and sigh softly.

It was the first time she found her mistress so capricious. It seems that ever since her secret of writing storybooks was exposed, she no longer cared about her image in front of them.

Her mistress was unwilling to go to her in-laws or return to the Western Capital, and she didn’t know what to do, fortunately, Mrs. Xu had come again.

As Song Qingyun spoke, she seemed to think of something, gently covering her mouth, saying: "These days, listening to Mr. Chen and the others tell Miss Xu’s detective stories, I got used to calling you Miss Xu without realizing it... it seems a bit rude."

"It’s fine, I’m used to others calling me Miss Xu, it feels more familiar when you call me Miss Xu."

Xu Jing’s mouth lifted slightly, and she said, "Or you can just call me Jing, and I’ll call you Qingyun, is that alright?"

Song Qingyun was momentarily stunned, her cheeks reddening slightly, and said, "Of course... of course, that’s fine. By the way, Ah... Jing, how are things in the Western Capital now? I saw in the letter my mother sent that Vice Minister Xiao has gone on an expedition? I, I don’t have any other intentions in asking, just worried about you and Chang Xiao..."

Song Qingyun was fretting over how to explain when the woman in front of her suddenly said, "Speaking of which, you’ve come just at the right time, I happen to have something to ask your help with!"

Song Qingyun was slightly stunned, "What is it?"

Following this, Xu Jing guided Song Qingyun through the various workshops, whether it was the workshops of the Zhou Family or their own, all had recruited many more people than usual and were working busily and orderly.

When Xu Jing arrived at one of the Zhou Family’s workshops, she happened to meet Zhou Qi there, who was slightly startled before walking up and smiling, "Miss Xu is here, it’s fortunate you sent word a day early, allowing our work to proceed quickly, but... This morning, I did a rough calculation with Mr. Cheng, to produce a hundred thousand doses of medicine within half a month with our current manpower is very stressful; it would require everyone working day and night to barely finish."

"But having everyone work day and night is impossible, so Mr. Cheng and I have rented two more courtyards for workshops and have been urgently recruiting more manpower.

However, manufacturing medicine isn’t ordinary work; it requires some medical knowledge. It’s not easy to recruit a large number of people in a short time who have this knowledge."

Xu Jing’s brow furrowed slightly, she resolutely said, "No matter what method, we must complete a hundred thousand doses within the stipulated time. If we can’t recruit enough people temporarily, Mr. Cheng and I will personally get involved. Ensuring enough medicine for the frontline soldiers is most important."

This is why she brought Chunyang and Chunxiang along as well.

In Anping County, Chunyang and Chunxiang had always helped with manufacturing medicine, and the two had already acquired certain proficiency in it.

Zhou Qi wasn’t surprised that Xu Jing would say this, smiling, "When the country is in trouble, every man has a responsibility. Rest assured, Miss Xu, if manpower is indeed insufficient, Tianyi Hall will exert all its efforts to prioritize producing these hundred thousand doses."

Xu Jing was slightly stunned and said, "Mr. Zhou has already helped us greatly, there’s no need for you to do this..."

"In the Holy Emperor’s eyes, Tianyi Hall and your Xinglin Hall are already one entity. If this endeavor isn’t completed on time, Tianyi Hall also bears responsibility, and if done well, Tianyi Hall will share in the credit."

Zhou Qi smiled broadly and said, "Rest assured, Miss Xu, I’m a businessman who doesn’t engage in loss-making deals."

Since avenging a major grievance, Zhou Qi had seemed increasingly relaxed.

Xu Jing also could not help but smile a little, saying, "Since Mr. Zhou puts it this way, I thank you, Mr. Zhou, first."

After parting with Zhou Qi, Xu Jing finally arrived at their own workshop.

As she expected, Cheng Xianbai was there supervising in person, and upon seeing Xu Jing, he quickly came up saying, "Miss Xu!"

"You’ve worked hard."

Xu Jing smiled and said, "I’ve brought you some manpower; Chunyang and Chunxiang will stay and work with you for a while. I heard from Mr. Zhou that you’ve rented two more places for medicine production; they can lead everyone at those workshops, and I’ll personally participate as well."

Cheng Xianbai’s eyes lit up and said, "With Chunyang and Chunxiang helping, I feel much more at ease!"

Then, somewhat hesitantly, he looked towards Song Qingyun, "This is... Song Erniang? Is Song Erniang here to help as well?"

Song Qingyun was also puzzled, not knowing why Xu Jing brought her here, so she quickly said, "If there’s anything I can help with, I’m more than willing, it’s just that... I’m not very knowledgeable about medicine manufacturing..."

Xu Jing suddenly turned, staring intently at Song Qingyun with shining eyes, said, "It’s great if Qingyun is willing to help! It doesn’t matter if you don’t know about medicine manufacturing, as long as you’re literate and can write! Our workshops need a lot of paperwork, counting, and inventory of finished medicines require literate people."

Literate and medically knowledgeable people are rare talents in this era!

Even Cheng Qingqing, it was because she wanted to study medicine that she forced herself to learn to read, but she’s limited to just recognizing characters, still not being able to write much, mostly related to medicine.

Chunyang and Chunxiang aren’t as good as Cheng Qingqing in this regard.

Song Qingyun: "..."

Being gazed upon so eagerly, how could she refuse?

To be honest, this was the first time she saw Miss Xu with such eager eyes, as if she were some delectable dish...

What she didn’t know was that Xu Jing’s demeanor had a term in the future—Zhou, Pa, Pi!

The next half month was fulfilling yet busy for Xu Jing, until one evening when she returned home, Shen solemnly delivered a letter from Xiao Yi, reminding her that Xiao Yi had mentioned sending home letters regularly.

Seeing Xu Jing’s somewhat dazed look, Shen couldn’t help but smile wryly, "Has the madam been so busy lately that she forgot the lord?"